191 F-15s grounded at least another monthBy Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jan 10, 2008 19:44:33 EST
A decision on the return to flight of 191 grounded F-15 Eagles will be made on a “plane-by-plane basis,” the head of Air Combat Command, Gen. John Corley said Thursday at the Pentagon
The jets remain grounded because each jet failed a detailed inspection that looked at sections of the jet’s longerons, the metal beams that reinforce the fuselage, said Maj. Gen. Tom Owen, commander of the Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia and the officer who oversees F-15 maintenance issues for the entire Air Force.
Inspection teams were looking for longerons that were thinner than the aircraft’s specifications called for. Even if a longeron was 1/1000th of an inch thinner than expected, the plane was grounded.
Inspectors also checked for other imperfections that could lead to crackling such as a rough surface on the aluminum alloy beams. Actual cracks were found in nine jets.
Corley told a press conference that a decision to release any of the jets back to flight would wait until after more analysis is done of airframe problems and the potential for cracking, a process that he said would take at least four weeks.
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http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/01/airforce_f15s_grounding_080110w/uhc comment: The estimated cost of replacing one longeron is $250,000, which is better than the $330,000,000 F-22 or the $239,000,000 F-35 replacement aircraft.